The laws of summer
by Thisisablank
Summary: Seto refused to be worn down by any challenges—not his "rebellious" little brother, not sunburns, not summer camps, not families with emotional problems, and certainly not the hot, shirtless program coordinator right in front of him…. Prideshipping. AU
1. Of Seto’s dilemma and Yami’s bat

_**Summary:**_ Seto refused to be worn down by any challenge—not his "rebellious" little brother, not sunburns, not summer camps, not families with emotional problems, and certainly not the hot, shirtless program coordinator right in front of him…. Prideshipping. AU

_**Things to consider before reading this fanfic**__**:**_

_This is a SetoxYami fanfic, so yes, it is shonen-ai. Please don't force yourself to read if you do not like male-male relationship._

_This does not follow the actual plot and timeline in the show. Death T, Duelist Kingdom, Battle City…ect…never happened. _

_Yami and Yugi are separated. They are twin brothers._

_The Kaiba brother's past- the death of their birth parents and Gozaburo's adoption will be kept._

_Seto, Yami, and Yugi are 22. Mokuba is 15._

_No, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! _

_Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to Kazuki Takahashi._

_And yes, this is AU.  
_

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Chapter 1: Of Seto's dilemma and Yami's bat.

It was a widely known fact that Seto Kaiba was a reasonable man.

And being such _reasonable_ individual of society, it was expected that his actions, as well as his words, would be reasonable. It was also expected that with his _reasonable _personality, he would be able to absorb and analyze any (if not all) information pertaining to any (again, if not all) aspects of his life.

Yet, despite all existing logic that was currently leaping from neuron to neuron in his brain, Seto Kaiba could not completely process the _brilliant and completely comprehensible _suggestion coming from the mouth of Mokuba's school counselor.

"I believed that this could help your predicament." The Mr.—Seto glanced at the impeccably clean name plate resting on the desk—McCann said, "Mokuba's rebellious actions could possibly stem from a lack of parental attention or an emotional bonding with a family figure. This," the counselor gestured to a brochure, "could help you and Mokuba renew the brotherly bond that might have faded due to your intense devotion to your company."

Mokuba shifted nervously in his seat as he watched his older brother read the cheap paper brochure in his hand. This. Was. Not. Good. This was not good at all. Fingering the hem of his shirt, he wished for any kind of distraction that might save him from facing his brother's cleverly concealed anger (a flying chicken with five pink wings would be nice. An earthquake or a volcano would be fine too). Mokuba lifted his head slightly to look out the window.

It was a hot day, and the heat wave reminded every student of the coming summer vacation lingering three days from now. Unfortunately, the students were not the only ones to be aware of the approaching summer months.

Mokuba's counselor, whose weight rivaled that of a hippopotamus with a full grown elephant in its stomach (which was, to this day, not humanly possible), was also conscious of the long break ahead (kindly informed by the 81 degree temperature). And in honor of the oh-so-wonderful imminent end to the tedious school year, Mr. McCann had felt that it was his foremost duty to report Mokuba's poor behavior in school to his older brother.

_A job that he should have done earlier when the problem first started, but while he is a man of big stature, the same does not go for his brain—_Seto silently thought.

And so here Mr. McCann sat, with the Kaiba brothers, in an office no doubt too small to give its occupants of relief from the scorching heat, especially when the air conditioning system had been broken by a semi-experienced mechanic.

Seto frowned in annoyance, both at the summer heat and at his current situation. The fact that he was wearing a trench coat in the summer did little to calm his nerves.

Seto could not help but be angry at himself. Wasn't he supposed to be a reliable and supportive big brother? Instead, he needed a complete stranger to tell him that there was a problem with his little brother.

Could he rely on his brother anymore? Seto felt silly for thinking such a thought—Mokuba's rudeness did not reflect incompetence or a flawed personality. Or did it? He did not know. Seto was not even sure that he knew his brother anymore.

What was Mokuba hiding? Did he have a girlfriend already? Had he tried drugs? Cigarettes? Alcohol? Mokuba was already fifteen years of age. Who knew what kind of things he was in contact with at school?

Seto regretted sending his brother to a public school. An _American_ public school. However, Seto had to deal with some business in the United States, and he was actually considering moving the Kaiba Corp main branch to America. In addition, Mokuba refused to have a private tutor and rejected any private institution.

Seto glanced at the white brochure in his hand. It was a brochure for some kind of recreational summer camp, guaranteeing to "heal the fracture in your family relationship" and "bring your family together in a way that will change your perceptions of one another forever." Phrases like "enhance YOUR summer experience" and random quotes from complete strangers claiming the legitimacy of the program took up half the space of the brochure. Pictures of family members with bad sunburns hugging one another took up the other half.

_But is the summer camp really necessary?_ Seto knew that being Seto Kaiba, he could address Mokuba's behavior problem with his own approach. Relying on strangers with bad sunburns seemed … unnecessary, not to mention completely ridiculous.

Summer camp was not exactly on Seto's to-do list for the summer. In fact, his schedule was already filled with business meetings and international trips. Reasonably, it was impossible to fit camping into his list. Also, reasonably, maintaining his company was of extreme importance. And Seto Kaiba was a reasonable man.

After contemplating his options, Seto broke the uncomfortable silence.

"This camping program is not necessary. I will deal with Mokuba in accordance to the severity of his actions." Mokuba gulped.

Mr. McCann tugged awkwardly at his tie.

"Mr. Kaiba, I highly recommend you and your brother enroll in this program. Considering your…" the counselor scrambled to find a word that would fit his thought, "_personal attributes_, I believe that this is your best solution."

"And do tell me, Mr. McCann, what you are referring to as my '_personal attributes'_?"

"I…," Mr. McCann was nervous now. Thin beads of sweat trailed down the side of his head. Seto's icy blue eyes were boring down on him; he knew he was treading on a dangerous territory, "I…was referring to your…parental situation, your… personal history. They could very well be the reason for …." The counselor trailed off, his voice lowering as he watched the expression on Seto Kaiba's face.

If Seto was annoyed with the man before, he was furious now. His eyes narrowed with a deadly gleam, and his hands tightened until the knuckles turned white.

So that what it was. 'Personal attribute'. His parental situation. His personal history. Orphan. Adopted. Gozaburo.

So he was not _good_ enough. Not good enough to be Mokuba's older brother. Not good enough to protect him. Not good enough because he was an _orphan_. Not good enough because he was _adopted. _

Memories that were far from being pleasant flooded his mind.

Mokuba panicked. Seto was shaking and his face was turning pale. "Nii-sama!"

Seto blinked as his train of thoughts was interrupted. He turned his head toward Mokuba. He looked at him for a while, confused, as if Mokuba was some strange alien species from outer space with ten horns on his head. As his mind cleared and resettled itself, he turned to the current matter at hand, Seto turned back to the man sitting across from him, ignoring his brother's concerned gaze.

Mokuba wanted to place a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder, but he decided against it.

"So you're saying that I am not competent enough to handle my little brother?"

" I've never questioned your compete…"

A ringing sound interrupted Mr. McCann from completing his sentence. Seto reached in his coat pocket and took out his cell phone. "Please excuse me," he said before walking out the door to answer his phone, mentally sighed in relief for the interruption. A faint "Kaiba" could be heard from behind the closed doors.

--------------------------------------------------

To say that the ride back was awkward would be an understatement.

The Kaibas had to leave the office early. One of Kaiba Corp's lawyers had called Seto to inform him of some lunatic's attempt to sue his company over some game designs, and he was going to the office to sort things out. The two brothers remained silent. Their entire "conversation" consisted of Seto telling Mokuba that he would drop him off at home before he left for Kaiba Corp.

Mokuba did not know what he should do or say. He looked out the car window to prevent having to look at his brother.

Seto's face revealed nothing, but Mokuba knew that he was furious. This was not the first time Mokuba's behavioral problems had come up. However, the conflicts usually stayed within the home—a few minor arguments here and there. This was the first time Seto had been notified of an issue involving outsiders.

Mokuba wanted to say something. Anything. But he did not know what to say. What could he say? He felt so guilty about being a disappointment to his brother, but he could not bring himself to apologize. An intangible hand was holding his tongue tightly, and he could not speak.

_I'm sorry nii-sama._

But Seto Kaiba could not hear his silent apology.

--------------------------------------------------

It was unbelievably hot.

Yami Mouto yawned as he stumbled into the living room, clad in nothing but a pair of black boxers. The summer heat, with its purest intentions and great consideration for his interests in mind, had _kindly_ nudged him awake from his slumber. He glanced at Yugi, who was currently occupied with watching some cheap American horror movie with morbid fascination.

"Morning aibou." No reply.

"Aibou?" Not even a twitch.

"Yugi!" No response.

After dowsing his hands in the cold sink water from the kitchen, Yami snuck behind his twin brother, who was too focused on the TV to notice. Just as the masked killer appeared behind the oblivious young girl in the movie, Yami's cool hand slowly trailed along the contour of the back of Yugi's neck as he whispered into his ear.

"Hey."

"ARRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!" Yugi screamed as he fell forward, toppling the popcorn bowl from his lap on to the floor.

"That…," Yugi said between each breath, "was…not…funny…." He turned around. Sure enough, Yami was standing there, his left hand clutching his stomach and his right gripping on the couch, trying not to collapse from laughter.

"It is aibou," Yami said as he took out a bowl and a box of cereal from the kitchen cabinet, "when I have been doing the same thing for years and you still have the same reaction. Besides, serves you right for not paying attention."

"I was too paying attention!" Yugi defended. "Otherwise, how could I possibly have known that Robert…" Yugi gestured to the screen, "is probably the real killer who wanted revenge for his dead cousin?"

"He wanted revenge for his dead nephew, aibou." Yami plopped down on to the couch next to Yugi. "And I was talking about your lack of response to my morning greetings."

"Well, at least I got the name right," Yugi mumbled.

"The killer's name was Benjamin."

"You spoiled the movie!" Yugi lightly punched his brother's arm. "Besides, what are you doing up so early?"

"It's too hot to sleep," Yami said, grimacing as he remembered the sheets, damp and sticky with sweat. "And we don't have air conditioning."

"And that is why I started to sleep on the floor instead. There was something for you in the mail by the way." Yugi grabbed a white envelope from the coffee table and handed it to Yami. "Some kind of summer camp?"

"Oh yeah!" Yami placed the cereal bowl on the table and cut open the envelope. "I applied for this thing… last month?" Yami tried to remember the exact time, but could not recall the date. "It's a summer camp for families with problems. Apparently, this will 'enhance my summer experience' and I will gain 'leadership skills that will last a life time.' I applied for a position as one of the coordinators. It's somewhere in California, I think."

"That's so cool, but…you would rather spend your vacation there than with Anzu and me in Hokkaido?" Yugi sounded hurt.

"No, it's just that... I don't want to be a bother to you and Anzu. Besides, this," Yami held up the letter, "will probably be an interesting challenge."

"You would never be a bother! I would not have asked you if I thought so!" _How could Yami have thought of such a thing? Yami was his __aibou__, his partner in crime, the darkness to his light_—Yugi frowned at his last thought. _Okay, now that was corny. _

"I don't want to be a third wheel," Yami said. "Also, you know how you two are."

"I know how what?"

"How you two are. You know, all _cuddly _and _kissy _and _touchy._ I'm not exactly a fan of _The Yugi and Anzu Porn Show_, available every two seconds for the world's viewing pleasure."

"What? It is SO not!" Yugi defended, "It's available every three seconds. Besides," he added with a sly tone, nudging his brother's arm, "everyone knows you would probably prefer the _Seto Kaiba's Strip Tease_ on channel 322 instead."

"I do NOT!" Yami denied, his face turning red from embarrassment, "And it is NOT a strip tease. Also, he's on channel 325, thank you very much." Ok, so he was a _little_ infatuated with Kaiba. So what? It was nothing serious—just a small crush. Yami was too scared to make a move back when they went to high school together. Back then, he was confused with his sexual orientation and was not exactly sure that the CEO even prefers men.

But damn, Seto Kaiba was a nice piece of eye candy on the screen. Yami often tried to catch a glimpse of his image on TV whenever he would make a public announcement. Yami did not know that a channel dedicated to game and technology even existed until Seto Kaiba came along. Last time he checked, the CEO was in America doing something with virtual technology.

"…friend." Yami snapped out of his reverie.

"What?"

"I said, 'You need a boyfriend.' Well, not even. You just need to get laid."

"Yugi!"

"Well it's true. You need something to loosen you up from all this tension."

"I do not need to get laid!" Yami huffed.

"I mean, at least I got to second base. You— you haven't even used your baseball bat yet. Wait a minute. Is there a problem with your bat Yami?"

"No, there is nothing wrong with my bat. It works perfectly fine," Yami retorted, ignoring the urge to look down.

"How do you know? Did you even bother to check? I bet you haven't even tried touching it yet!"

"Yugi!"

"It's completely normal if there is a problem. There are _certain_ types of helps you can get out there for your bat. Some people would take certain _pills_ to enhance their chance of getting at least one hit. If you want, we could order some…"

"Yugi! For the last time, there is nothing wrong with my bat!"

"Are you sure?" Yugi faked a professional tone. "Satisfaction guaranteed. Try a free sample for 30 days and get your full refund if…"

"This is ridiculous. I DO not need any HELP to get sex." _Besides, if I do get those pills, which I do NOT need, who do I have to test them out with me? _

As if reading his twin's thought, Yugi continued, "You're going to America this summer right? Maybe Seto Kaiba could check your bat for you. He would know what's wrong with your bat. Just ask him to examine it, give it a few squeezes and swings. I heard he is quite the batter. Did you know that his homerun record—"

"Yugi! I'm warning you!" Yami's voice was reaching its dangerous pitch.

"Ok ok, I'll stop, I'll stop. But really, don't be such an uptight ass. Seriously, consider getting an American boyfriend this summer. I heard Americans are quite good with loosening tight asses."

* * *

**Note:**

**And that is the end of the first chapter. Yes, this is my first fanfic :D, and yes, there is no prideshipping actions yet, but hey, there is more to come. Hopefully. **

**I still need to set some background stuff first before Seto and Yami meet. **

**(1*) refers to the shape of the Mouto's living room/ kitchen. It is an open kitchen connected to the living room (with no doors). The kitchen faces the back of the couch. To have a general idea of what it looks like, find the link on my profile.**

**Oh, and please review. All suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Especially grammarical ones, which is my weakest point.  
**


	2. Of anger and starfish

**Chapter 2: Of anger, shame, and starfish. **

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* * *

  
**

Seto sighed.

Today was a bit more stressful than usual. After a long meeting with his board of directors, he had to discuss the legal matter with his lawyer. Again. A lunatic who thought that he was _so_ clever decided to accuse Kaiba Corp of plagiarizing his game designs, and his lawyer had yet to find a solution.

The lawyer, who claimed to be a Harvard graduate, could not find a loop hole in any of the paper work. After dismissing the man for the night, he had no choice but to stay up late in his office reading over the documents.

By the time Seto arrived home, he was beyond exhaustion. He was used to it though. In fact, it would be quite unusual if he did not arrive home feeling like he had been ran over by a ten thousand pound truck.

Mokuba had already gone to bed. After they went home the other day, Seto had announced that Mokuba was to be grounded for his behavior at school. The teen accepted the punishment without much protest. Everything went on as normal.

All of their interactions were limited to a few words, nothing more, and nothing less. The need to deal with issues efficiently was a dominating force of Seto's working environment. Consequentially, that need had managed to become an important aspect of his personal life as well.

It was easy to set things in terms of business, because _business_ was logical. There was no need to consider _emotions_ when he handled law suits, statistics, meetings, and contract.

* * *

Yami was ready.

Well, not exactly.

"What is all this?" Yugi cried out in horror.

In front of him was their living room, if one could call it one anymore. Clothes were strewed in one direction. Small packages of toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and other necessities were scattered in another. The clutter covered the whole place in numerous mini mountains.

What the hell was this?

Yugi looked through the mess, trying in vain to locate Yami. "Yami, where are you?"

"Here!"

Yugi caught a glimpse of his brother's hair poking out from one of the pile of clothing.

"What is all of this?" Yugi repeated, approaching Yami.

"Stuff. I'm trying to pack," Yami replied, wrestling his shirt out of a ball of clothes.

"Yeah, _trying_. This place hasn't look this bad since Jounouchi decided to get us a pig for our birthday."

"I know I know! But there are so many things that I want to bring and I don't know where to start," Yami said. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Okay. Okay. I will."

Yugi started to look through the mess, trying to find a particular item. However, it seemed that Yami did not have it.

"I knew you'll be missing something."

"Missing what?" Yami turned to his brother with curiosity.

Yugi looked serious. "Yami, I cannot believe that you forgot the most important thing for this trip!" He frowned. "I'm disappointed in you. I thought that you would remember."

"What did I forget?" Yami asked, quite alarmed.

Yugi's frown sunk deeper.

"Don't you remember?"

"I would answer you if I know what you are talking about."

"You don't know what I'm talking about!" Yugi cried. "You _don't know_ what I'm talking about? Yami, I have been telling you a hundred times not to forget it!"

"What? What?" Yami panicked. What did he forget? He was not the type to forget anything, especially his brother's words. A pang of guilt hit Yami. His brother looked hurt.

"Don't worry about it Yami," Yugi sighed. "I knew that you would forget, so I went out and got it for you. You could thank me later," He handed Yami a small paper bag.

Yami opened it.

It was a bottle of lube.

* * *

Seto typed furiously at his computer.

Things have gotten worse yesterday when the press got a hold of the lawsuit information. He had to make a public appearance to answer the reporters' prying questions.

It was nothing new though. Throughout his career, Seto had to do the same thing several times whenever an issue came up. He had always dislike reporters when he was in Japan; however, there was something about the American ones that made his blood boil with rage and hatred.

He would have to meet his publicists later.

Speaking of publicists…

"Mr. Kaiba," His secretary said. "The publicists are here to see you."

"Bring them in."

"Yes sir."

Seto did not have to wait long.

"Good Morning Mr. Kaiba," Thomas Snyder and Samantha Palmer greeted him as they entered the room.

"Mr. Kaiba," his third publicist, Jonathan Elldridge said.

All three of them were here at the same time. This could not possibly be good news.

"Mr. Snyder, Mrs. Palmer, Mr. Elldridge," Seto said as he stood up to shake each of their hands. "Please sit down. Is there a problem? If I am not mistaken, our meeting was scheduled this afternoon."

"There is an issue," Palmer said. "Have you read the papers this morning?" she asked.

_No, because unlike all of you, I have a company to run, several contracts to check, and a law suit up my ass. I don't have time to read the damn newspaper today—_Seto wanted to say. Instead, he settled with:

"Unfortunately, my current schedule did not agree with sparing me a few minutes to read the paper. Please, enlighten me the reasons for your presences here. Otherwise, please return later at the appropriate time for our meeting."

"We highly recommend that you read today's papers," Elldridge chimed in.

Snyder placed several newspapers in front of Seto.

Seto studied his publicists with suspicion. The three wore stern expressions on their faces, and there was a hint of anxiousness in their words.

He glanced over the papers on his desk. He was about to demand an explanation when a headline caught his eyes:

**Billion dollar CEO neglected his teenage brother.**

_Unbelievable,_

_This was fucking unbelievable—_Seto frowned as he read the page. It was on the "People Today" section, in big, bold, black letters.

He scanned the article.

_Billion dollar CEO of Kaiba Corp…faces a lawsuit for plagiarism… Abandons his fifteen-years-old brother to devote on his company…neglect forces the young teen to take his anger out upon society…reckless fighting…possible drug abuse…CEO refuses to talk to school counselor…a typical case of child abandonment…__._

That was not all though.

Seto shuffled through the other newspapers. Each of them had a different headline taking about him and Mokuba. Each of them described and criticized every small aspects of their personal life.

What the hell was this?

_Mokuba Kaiba…age fifteen…a classic result of…have industrialization and modernization gone too far in shaping teens?...older brother…facing a lawsuit…single parent… is money the only thing that matters in this society?...._

_Oh heads are going to roll._—Seto thought angrily.

He sighed. This could be dealt with. It was not like the Kaibas had never appeared on the headline before. But still…

_Those damn bastards._

_Why were these articles published? For what reason?_

Either he had telepathy, or he was just extremely lucky — Elldridge managed to answer the questions raging inside Seto's mind.

"The current events in the United States are not enough to increase the sale of newspapers today. Desperate for any method to raise their profits, American journalists will devour any chances they have of making a dramatic headline. The plagiarism controversy is their opportunity. Unfortunately, this means that the papers will be digging for more than just company law suit—they will be targeting the personal parts of your life as well."

Everything that Elldridge had said made sense.

But…

Seto could not help but felt angry. It was understandable for business to exploit others for their own gain. But…

_They dared to exploit SETO KAIBA?_

Seeing Seto's escalating fury, Palmer hesitated to hand Seto the final issue of the day; the last thing she wanted was finding herself unemployed and picking gums off the street. However, Elldridge nodded at her encouragingly, so she interrupted Seto's focus on the papers.

"We think you should see this as well."

Seto grabbed what Palmer handed to him. It was just a normal gossip magazine that dug up personal things people preferred to be kept private.

His body became rigid as he caught what was on the cover of the magazine.

* * *

"I'm going to miss you, you know," Yugi said, carrying one of Yami's bags with him as the two entered the airport.

"I'm going to miss you too," Yami admitted. "It wouldn't be the same without you around making unnecessary sexual references."

"It wouldn't be the same for me either. Now I have no one to embarrass with my inappropriate jokes."

"Ha-ha-ha," Yami faked a laugh, rolling his eyes.

Yami did not have to say it aloud for Yugi to understand him. Yami was scared, no, terrified that he had to spend the summer away from his twin for the first time. Not to mention that he had to travel to an entirely new country.

When they were eight, Yami and Yugi had made a set of laws that both of them promised to follow no matter what. However, they were eight, and so some of the regulations were borderline ridiculous, like the one that prohibited Yami from wearing blue-polka-dot underwear on Wednesdays and Sundays.

As they matured, they started to forget all about the Pact and its laws, since whatever beliefs that they held when they were younger no longer stayed with them when they became older.

There was, however, a law that they had upheld until this day.

Devastated by their parents' death when the couple was taking a second summer honeymoon, the brothers vowed never to spend a single summer apart.

They promised to stay with one another and keep things the same forever.

It seemed strange to Yami that he would think of it now. It had never bothered him when they broke the childish rules that they had created so long ago, but breaking this particular one made him feel…uneasy.

It was just a trip. A simple trip for five weeks. But somehow, Yami felt like he was taking a giant step that he was not ready to take.

And he did not like it.

* * *

It was the strangest occurrence.

Seto was home early. He was sitting calmly on the couch, reading something and sipping his coffee.

This meant one of three things:

1) Seto had realized that overworking was bad for his health, and that his health should be one of his highest priorities. Therefore, he decided to come home early to prevent his health from further deterioration.

2) An army of giant dairy cows from Mars attacked Kaiba Corp, causing the entire computer system to shut down and destroying the whole building in the process. After the catastrophe, Seto went home to rest before calculating his revenge on the said cows.

3) Something was seriously wrong.

Mokuba knew that it was probably the third option. He had heard of the news at school. After all, nothing was kept a secret at a public school.

"Sit down Mokuba."

Mokuba winced at Seto's harsh tone. He thought of running away, but decided on sitting across from his brother instead.

Seto slid the magazine across the coffee table.

"Explain."

A cold chill ran through Mokuba as he saw what was on the cover.

_He knew now._

It was a snapshot. A very good one at that. It was a picture of Mokuba kissing the forehead of another. Not just any "another." He was kissing the forehead of another _boy. _

Another boy.

Bold caption in yellow accompanied the picture. **More than friends? A shocking revelation…continue on page 12.**

What was he supposed to say? _Yes Nii-sama. Apparently, I'm gay. Sorry for the tabloid thing though._

"I.." Mokuba did not know how to start. There were so many things that he wanted to say, but nothing came out.

Mokuba's mind was a jumble of mess—a combination of surprise, dread, and shame.

"Mokuba, look at me."

Mokuba did not move. His eyes glued to the floor.

"Mokuba, look at me when I'm talking to you." Seto's voice tightened.

He could not do it.

He could not meet Seto in the eye.

Mokuba did not want to see it.

He did not want to see the disappointment in Seto's eyes. He did not want to meet Seto's gaze only to discover how much his brother hated him.

While Mokuba was struggling with himself, Seto was not doing any better either. All the words that he had planned to say died out when he saw Mokuba. Now, there was nothing left in his mind but utter confusion.

What should he say? Should he demand for an explanation? But there was no need for an explanation. What happened was clear to both of them. It was right there, the truth, glaring up at them in furious words and images.

_The damn magazine._

Seto did not know what he wanted from Mokuba, or how he should ask for it. So he settled with:

"Did you really think that I wouldn't find out?"

Seto internally winced. That sounded like an accusation. And Seto was not sure _what_ he was accusing his brother of doing.

Mokuba did not reply.

"Answer me. Did you really think that you could do what you did without anybody finding out?"

It was this moment that something else was growing.

It was subtle, barely noticeable, but it was there, waiting for its chance to manifest itself.

It started with a slight irritation, at the bottom of both Kaiba's consciousness. Then, the stress and confusion of the situation nurtured it, and it grew gradually, no longer a subtle thing.

It was anger.

Mokuba was torn between shame and anger. He hated himself for disappointing his brother, yet at the same time, he was annoyed that Seto had made homosexuality sounded like a bad thing. Both emotions fought for dominance, and he did not know what he should chose.

But shame was a feeling that Mokuba resented the most, because when one felt guilty, he had to think about how much he was hurting others.

And Mokuba had managed to hurt his brother. He hated this realization even more though, because now, he had to think about the fact that he had hurt Seto.

So he focused on the anger. Anger was simple. A person during his fit of fury could ignore the pain of seeing how he had caused the sufferings of others.

Mokuba was not ready to feel shame just yet.

So he focused on the anger.

Gathering all of his strength, Mokuba moved to meet his brother's gaze with defiance.

"I" Mokuba continued, "don't have to explain anything to you."

* * *

Seto sighed as he failed to finish reading another contract. He had been reading the same sentence for an hour now.

All he could think about was his confrontation with Mokuba last week.

The Kaiba brothers entered a cold war after that event. It was a period of high tension, where every little problem became bigger than what it should be. Mokuba's ridiculously long hair, Mokuba wanting to go to a friend's party…etc…suddenly led to something else.

"It's all for the best." Elldridge had said.

Seto thought that the idea was ridiculous before…

But now…

It seemed like a logical decision. This would help the Kaibas in avoiding the tabloid just for a while.

Also…

Seto's finger traced the outline of the paper brochure.

Just maybe…

He studied the sunburned group in the photo.

It was decided.

Seto and Mokuba would leave for Southern California next week.

* * *

_It was the strangest occurrence._

Standing here, in an entirely different country, Yami suddenly thought of his grandfather.

Jii-chan was a brilliant man—a master of games, especially in the game of life. He was, in Yami's opinion, one of the greatest men of his time. Before he passed away in his death bed, Jii-chan gave him three advices:

1) Learn to speak and write English fluently.

2) Always keep a pen in your pocket.

3) Do not, by any means, double knot your shoelaces—tie them in a single knot, loosely.

And being the wonderful and loyal grandson that he was, Yami followed every single one advice as closely as possible.

Well, almost…

As of right now, Yami was lost.

Here he was, standing in Los Angeles International Airport, with no idea of what to do or where to go. The fact that his English was terrible did little in solving his predicament.

"Yes, Jii-chan. I know. I should have listened to you," Yami silently mumbled. _Stupid Americans with their overly complicated language. _

Yami sighed. He had faced a lot of trouble trying to find his luggage. He had faced even more trouble trying to find the exit.

Yami _tried_ asking for directions, he really did. But since his knowledge of the English language was not that great, he achieved little success in comprehending the numerous attempted helps that he received.

And so, after what seemed like hours of mindless walking and standing like an idiot, he ended up sitting in a bench watching other unfortunate souls who were also sitting in benches.

It was terribly exciting. No joke.

To top it all off, people were giving him strange stares.

Yami suddenly felt a little self conscious. He tugged the hem of his navy blue T-shirt and dusted invisible dirt off his jean. Why were they staring? Did he look too much like a tourist? Well, he did look a little bit jaded from the flight, but so did everyone else in this damn airport.

It was probably his hair. Yeah, that was probably it. He got the hint when a little girl pulled her mother's hand, pointed at him, and shouted (to everyone, no doubt) in a tone that implied _absolute kindness and compassion:_

"Look mommy, that _kid_ (Yami frowned at this) has a giant starfish for a head."

Yami felt his face glowing hot from embarrassment and irritation.

He was _not_ a kid! He was a completely (well, more like a partially) responsible and logical adult. His small stature did not, in any way, correlated with the expanse of his maturity.

And his head was not to be mistaken as a starfish. Any reasonable human being would know that his head was actually referred to as _a head_— which is, as everyone knew, a part of the human anatomy. It was _not_ a star shaped invertebrate of the class Asteroidea with bony, calcified skin and the ability to regenerate limbs.

His hair was _unique_. Repeat: _unique._ Maybe it did resemble the form of the said invertebrate, but it did have distinct characteristics that prevent others of adopting the popular misconception that it was a starfish. His hair, tipped with red, stood stubbornly in black spikes with lightning blond strands shooting in many directions.

_Could a starfish grow hair this awesome? I don't think so—_Yami pouted.

What did that little girl know anyway? And why is everybody snickering and silently agreeing with her?

_Damn Americans_.

The little girl's mother quickly reprimanded her daughter for saying such a thing. Just as Yami was about to silently thank her, she told her daughter something that was too quick and difficult for Yami's ear to catch. He was pretty sure that what was said was no good, because the mother and daughter started to _secretly_ glanced at him a couple of times, before busting into loud giggles.

_Damn Americans_.

What was he doing sitting around anyway? He was supposed to get out of here. He was supposed to arrive at the camp already. He was supposed to meet the other coordinators.

Instead he was on a bench listening to strangers making fun of his hair.

After realizing that he would not be accomplishing anything by sitting here, Yami decided to look around for the exit. As he stood up, he made an important discovery:

He sat on a piece of gum.

This day could not get any better.

Was this country not THE UNITED STATES? Was the United States' citizens so inept that they failed to locate a trashcan to dispose of this piece of gum?

_Damn Americans_.

After an hour of searching for an exit, Yami managed to find the directory, who had understood his lack of English, talked slowly so that he could hear every word, and kindly helped him.

He was now standing outside of the airport.

However, he was in lost of what to do next. He was hungry. He was tired. He was thirsty. And great, his shoelaces came undone.

Yami sighed and bend down to retie the stubborn laces. However, as he reached down, he lost his balance and fell, crashing into someone else's luggage and successfully knocking into that person.

Great. Just great.

Yami quickly apologized as he tried to pick himself up. Out of habits, he accidentally said the apology in Japanese instead of English. Yami silently cursed himself as he realized his mistake.

Great. Just Great.

"It's fine." The stranger replied in perfect Japanese, before offering him a hand to help him up.

Yami found himself staring at a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Seto Kaiba." Yami said in surprise, before he grabbed Seto's hand to pull himself up.

_I can't believe it. It's Kaiba. _Yami silently cheered in his mind.

"Yami." Seto said, quite surprise as well. It was not ordinary occurrence to meet his high school rival in such an unusual situation.

Seto's eyes swept through Yami's appearance. The Mouto boy looked good. The years that he spent after high school must have done him well, though he looked slightly slimmer than Seto remembered.

"Yami!" Mokuba appeared from behind his brother. "You're here!" He scan the perimeter. "Where's Yugi?"

"Hey Mokuba! Yugi's not here. It's just me this time." Yami replied. He could not believe his luck. The Kaiba brothers happened to be occupying in the same country, in the same city, and in the same airport as him! Yami silently thanked his grandfather.

The two looked well. Seto was a little bit taller, but the bags under his eyes were darker than before. He abandoned his usual long trench coat today and clad in simple shirt and jeans (it was quite hot in Southern California after all). Mokuba's hair managed to grow longer, and his skin was a light tan. The brothers appeared to be a little bit troubled...

"Really?" Mokuba was shocked. The twins always went everywhere together. "Why isn't he with you? And what are you doing here anyway? I thought Americans are not your type."

"They're not. But Yugi insisted that I try them out, being that I was the single one. So here I am" Yami joked, swinging his ams apart in exaggeration.

"Yugi has a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, for a while."

"I don't know what is more surprising, the fact that you are somewhere without your brother or the fact that Yugi has a girlfriend."

"Probably the latter." The two snickered. They knew how awkward Yugi could be around the opposite sex.

Mokuba knew the Mouto twins since he was ten. They were the only ones that Seto could stand to be his partners in numerous class projects, so they were the only ones that came over to his house in some occasions. During the times that the boys came over, Yami, Yugi, and Mokuba had gotten close, thanked to their similar love for video games and the twins' friendly attitude. They were Mokuba's first friends.

"So how have you two been?" Yami asked, trying to integrate Seto into the conversation, seeing how he stood on the side looking ill at ease.

The Kaiba brothers stiffened.

"We're..." Mokuba tried to find the word, "doing ok...."

There was an uncomfortable silence, and Yami knew that he was hitting on a sensitive topic, so he made an effort to shift the conversation.

"Yeah, I know what that feels like. So, Mokuba, since I happen to know that Americans are _your_ type, did you manage to find a girlfriend yet?" Yami asked to lighten the mood.

It did not work. If anything, the atmosphere got worse. Seto looked away, and Mokuba seemed a little squirmish.

"Well..."

Just as Mokuba was trying to answer Yami, a car pulled up on the curb. A man wearing a black suit stepped out, greeted the Kaiba brothers and started to load their suitcases in the car trunk.

"We have to go." Mokuba said apologetically. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Hey, why don't you come along with us! We can drop you off where ever you need to go!"

"Really? Are you sure? That would be great! As long as it's not too much trouble for you that is..." Yami trailed off.

"No, it's really no trouble at all."

"Mokuba.." Seto spoke up.

"Please nii-sama?" Mokuba pleaded, speaking to Seto for the first time since they had left New York.

The brothers stared at one another, both equally shocked at the fact that they had actually talked to each other.

Seto weighed his options. Bringing Yami along might lengthen the time they have to spend in the limo, not to mention that Seto did not felt like going down memory lane today. On the other hand, with Yami here, the awkward silence that accompanied the Kaibas the entire trip so far would be avoided.

Besides, Yami was quite attractive, which could make his ride to the hotel considerably more interesting.

Seto shook his head.

He _did not_ just think that.

"Fine." Seto said simply, before getting into the car.

"Yes!" Mokuba cheered, relieved that he did not have to face the ride with Seto alone. "Take care of his suitcase too please." Mokuba said to the driver.

"Yes sir." The man replied.

"Let's go Yami, we have much to catch up on."

"Yeah."

Yami was ecstatic. After hours of looking at strangers, he found two familiar faces, making him forget about his initial loneliness. Mokuba was one of his good friend and Seto was...a good acquaintance (Seto had refused to acknowledge that they were friends), and not to mention that he now had a front row seat to the (as Yugi so eloquently put it) _Seto Kaiba Strip Tease_.

In addition, he had gotten a ride to the camping location.

Yami was slightly worried though. There was some kind of conflict between the two brothers, and he did not know what. He had to be careful not to step on that mine when he start to talk with the two in the car.

Mokuba had let him get in the car first.

The younger Kaiba looked at Yami with an amused expression.

"Yami, is that gum sticking to your ass?"

* * *

**Yay, another chapter.**

**I apologized for the late update. However, I was and still am currently facing the finals.**

**Everything was a bit vague in the middle, so if anyone is confused about something. Feel free to ask.**

**Any suggestion is appreciated.**

**Please read and review.**


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